Trinidad Cemetery

Duane's take

Here's my telling of what the official marker has to say about the Trinidad Cemetery in Henderson County. Pull up a chair, because this one's got a river in it, and rivers in Texas tend to complicate things. On January 30, 1869, a man named Onslow M.

Airheart purchased 1,476 acres on the bank of the Trinity River. He was already an established figure in Henderson County by then, an early pioneer who had served as a first lieutenant in the Confederate Army and who owned and operated a ferry for many years. So the man knew the Trinity.

Knew its moods, knew its banks. But knowing a river and trusting it are two different things, and that river would have something to say before this story was done. His wife, Mary, died in 1874 and was buried across the river from their property, over in Navarro County.

And Onslow Airheart, a man who had crossed that Trinity more times than most people cross a street, made up his mind. When his time came, he wanted to be laid to rest right there beside her. Simple enough wish.

Except the Trinity had other ideas. When Onslow M. Airheart died on December 22, 1883, the river was flooding.

He never made it across to Mary. He was buried on his own property, right there on those 1,476 acres he had purchased fourteen years before. His estate was divided among his remaining family, and that land, and that small private cemetery, passed on.

Then, in the early 1920s, the Texas Power and Light Company purchased around 1,700 acres of land that included the Airheart Private Cemetery. Now, the company agreed to do something worth noting. They provided additional acreage to establish a city cemetery for the town of Trinidad.

What had been one family's burial ground started becoming something larger. More acreage was added in 1974, and again in 2002. A cemented floor pavilion went up.

A brick entrance was added. The place grew into itself. And who is buried there?

Well, Onslow's twin brother, Moses C. Airheart, born the same year, 1834, a Civil War veteran himself, is there. So is their half-brother, Charles Wesley Airheart, born in 1854.

Many of the Airheart descendants are buried at Trinidad Cemetery across the generations. And then there is Moses Airheart's grandson, Onclo Merel Airheart, born in 1918, a highly decorated World War II hero who fought alongside Audie Murphy. That name, Audie Murphy, ought to tell you something about the caliber of the fight and the fighters.

Onclo Merel Airheart is buried there too, in the ground his family has called home for well over a century. The Pulley family is there as well, a family the marker tells us was very involved in the growth of the town of Trinidad. One family cemetery, flooded out of its original intentions, grew into a city cemetery, carrying all of Trinidad's history in its ground.

The Trinity tried to keep Onslow from Mary. It couldn't keep his family from finding a home.

What the marker says

On January 30, 1869, Onslow M. Airheart (1834-1883) purchased 1476 acres on the bank of the Trinity River. Airheart was an early pioneer to Henderson County, served as a 1st lieutenant for the Confederate Army and owned and operated a ferry for many years. His wife, Mary, died in 1874 and was buried across the river from their property in Navarro County. Airheart wanted to be buried next to his wife but, when Airheart died on December 22, 1883, he was buried on his property due to flooding conditions. Airheart's estate was divided among his remaining family. In the early 1920s, the Texas Power and Llight Company purchased around 1700 acres of land that included the Airheart Private Cemetery. The company agreed to provide additional acreage to establish a city cemetery for the town of Trinidad. Additional acreage was added in 1974 and 2002. A cemented floor pavilion and a brick entrance was added. Airheart's twin brother, Moses C. Airheart (1834-1887), a Civil War veteran, is buried here along with their half-brother, Charles Wesley Airheart (1854-1911). Many of their descendants are buried at the Trinidad Cemetery. Moses Airheart's grandson, Onclo Merel Airheart (1918-2001), a highly decorated World War II hero who fought alongside Audie Murphy, is also buried here. Another family buried here is the Pulley family. The Pulleys were very involved in the growth of the town of Trinidad. This historic cemetery transformed from a small family cemetery to the Trinidad City Cemetery and is a testament to generations past.